Definitely beneficial for passengers that want to surf the Web on U.S flights, Gogo is rolling out significantly faster Internet access on many planes.

Detailed on the Gogo press room earlier today, the wireless Internet service provider is updating the technology on Delta Air Lines, US Airways and Virgin America this year in order to provide faster download speeds for airline passengers. Shifting from Gogo’s previous air-to-ground (ATG) technology, the company is moving to a new system called ATG-4. While the original ATG technology offered speeds up to 3.1 megabits per second (Mbps),  the new ATG-4 system will offer speeds of 9.8Mbps. While passengers still won’t be watching Netflix or video chatting on Skype at that speed, it will offer significantly greater capacity and a more stable experience for all users.

Regarding the technology upgrade, Gogo CEO Michael Small stated “This significant step in Gogo’s technology roadmap allows us to better address the demand for in-air connectivity services. We know we have a devoted core of customers who depend on our service and who choose flights based on its availability. ATG-4 planes will have improved that service today – especially on transcontinental routes.”

In order to upgrade a plane with the ATG-4 system, a technical team with Gogo needs access to the aircraft for a single night. The team attaches two directional antennas on either side of the plane in addition to a second modem. After installing a software update, the plane is ready to pick up signals from approximately 150 land based cellular towers around the United States that have been upgraded to ATG-4 as well. 

Gogo is adding the new ATG-4 system to hundreds of aircraft before the end of the year, so it’s possible that passengers flying Delta Air Lines, US Airways and Virgin America during the holidays will be able to take advantage of the faster service. Gogo also plans to start rolling out the new system on American Airlines and United planes during 2013. Representatives with Gogo have not indicated when the company will roll out the faster system on other carriers such as Frontier Airlines, AirTran Airways, Air Canada or Alaska Airlines. 

However, the speed upgrade could come at a higher cost to the consumer. As PandoDaily noted during September, Gogo offers a variety of different prices, depending on the airport, when the passenger purchases the Gogo Internet access on the plane. The example pointed out by PandoDaily shows a price of $10 per hour on a cross-country flight from San Francisco to New York City.

If a passenger plans ahead before the flight, they can purchase an all-day pass through the Gogo site for $14. A more useful option for a frequent flyer is the Gogo unlimited plan at approximately $40 for an entire month of service on any carrier. 

Competitors to Gogo include Row 44 on Southwest and ViaSat on JetBlue. Rather than air-to-ground technology, both companies offer Internet service through satellites. Delivering higher speeds than Gogo’s ATG-4 technology, Row 44 promises 11Mbps to passengers of Southwest flights. On planes equipped with Row 44′s service, Southwest offers a level of free access that allows passengers to check flight status as well as limited shopping and gaming options through a company portal. However, passengers can purchase Internet access on the flight at a price of $5 for all day service. 

Only a few weeks ago, Steven Sinofsky was overseeing the launch of Windows 8 and Microsoft's new Surface tablet. But now, to the surprise of many, he has suddenly parted ways with the computer giant.

What’s going on in the tech world? Just a couple of weeks after Apple lost one of its long-time high-profile executives, the same thing happens at Microsoft.

Following the announcement of iOS software chief Scott Forstall’s departure from Apple last week, this time it’s the turn of Microsoft’s head of Windows, Steven Sinofsky. The precise reason for his sudden exit isn’t clear at the present time, though according to an email sent to Microsoft employees from company CEO Steve Ballmer, it was Sinofsky’s decision to leave.

Sinofsky was one of the computer giant’s top executives, a 23-year veteran of the company who in recent years was responsible for getting the Windows OS back on its feet with Windows 7 and 8 following Vista’s poor reception. He was also a key player in bringing the company’s new Surface tablet to the marketplace.

However, there have long been rumors that he was a difficult character to work with, pushing his ideas over others and being less than diplomatic when dealing with colleagues.

In a statement on Microsoft’s website, Sinofsky said, “It is impossible to count the blessings I have received over my years at Microsoft. I am humbled by the professionalism and generosity of everyone I have had the good fortune to work with at this awesome company.”

Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer said in the same statement that he was “grateful” for Sinofsky’s contribution over the years.

He added: “The products and services we have delivered to the market in the past few months mark the launch of a new era at Microsoft….To continue this success it is imperative that we continue to drive alignment across all Microsoft teams, and have more integrated and rapid development cycles for our offerings.”

Sinofsky has been replaced by Julie Larson-Green, who, since joining the company in 1993, has helped with the development of products such as Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office.

News of Sinofsky’s departure – like Forstall’s from Apple last week – will come as a surprise to many. Where he goes from here remains to be seen, but with his extensive experience and undoubted talent, it’s a safe bet he won’t be out in the wilderness for too long.

[Image: Wiki]

One way that you can save on your cell phone minutes is to utilize the Wi-Fi calling feature offered by T-Mobile. Your call gets routed over your Internet connection and you can keep your bucket of minutes. Earlier, it seemed that T-Mobile would be supporting the Wi-Fi calling feature on the Google Nexus 4, but this no longer appears to be the case.

The earlier outline from T-Mobile support had Wi-Fi calling listed as a feature on the new LG-made Android smartphone, but the information has since been updated to say that Wi-Fi calling is not supported.

Besides Wi-Fi calling, the Nexus 4 has some pretty awesome features. It comes with Android 4.2 installed and a beastly quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro 1.5Ghz processor. It also comes with a 4.7-inch IPS+ LCD display at 1280 x 768 resolution. Overall, Chris Burns, who reviewed the phone for us, was pretty impressed with what it brought to the table.

This doesn’t mean that the Nexus 4 is a bad phone and it doesn’t mean that you can’t still get around this with some other VoIP service, but it is a shame that this native feature isn’t being supported. This might be because T-Mobile can’t customized the Android OS under the hood of the Nexus 4 the way it can with other phones that can be skinned.

While you can pick up the factory unlocked Google Nexus 4 outright from the Google Play Store for $299 (8GB) or $349 (16GB), T-Mobile is selling it on a two-year contract for $200. You save some money, but you get tied down for 24 months. And you still don’t get Wi-Fi calling.

The much anticipated Nokia Lumia 920 has now hit store shelves. The flagship Windows Phone 8 device is getting a nice spotlight over at Best Buy, with it showing at the top of its mobile phone page. Walmart is also showing the Lumia 920 on the front of their mobile site.

So how well is the Lumia 920 doing on its first day? Currently the Lumia 920 lands a number 42 on the Best Buy top sellers page, which is odd when a seemingly unknown and unadvertised Xperia Ion is topping the number 15 spot. As for Walmart?  Even though Walmart is offering the Lumia 920 for an impressively low $49.99 ($50 less than AT&T’s site), the device still hasn’t made it onto Walmart’s top twenty list.

On the other hand, European sales tell a very different story. The Nokia flagship handset has already managed to sell out in many places within the first day sales.

So what’s the big deal over in the US? Nokia may have just had bad timing after releasing the device extremely closely to Samsung’s US release for the Note 2, and a few months after the iPhone 5. Or maybe the majority of smartphone owners are still happy with their current operating system, and aren’t interested for the switch to Windows Phone. Honestly though, it might just have to do with brand perception. Nokia just isn’t that popular in the United States.

Either way, the Windows Phone 8 flagship handset will continue to remain on sale, and we won’t have a clear picture of the handset’s success until the handset settles into the market amongst the imminent Christmas shopping sprees. It’s also worth noting that Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 marketing efforts are just now starting to heat up, with several celebrities endorsing the handset– such as Jessica Alba. What do you think of Windows Phone 8 and the Lumia 920? Interested or not?

How successful was Microsoft's Halo 4 upon release last week? Just count the number of records it's already broken.

Halo 4 is a hit. More than that, in fact: Halo 4 is a record-holder… for one more day, at least.

Microsoft and 343 Industries, the developer behind the game, have confirmed that Halo 4 is on track to reach $300 million in sales worldwide in its first week of release, making it not only the most successful Halo launch to date., but also the biggest entertainment launch of the year to date. Sales of the game on its first day of release made more than $220 million internationally, breaking the first-day box office takes of such popular movies as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and Marvel’s The Avengers on its domestic gross alone.

According to GameStop president Tony Bartel, Halo 4 had the largest Halo launch in the store’s history, as well as the biggest game launch on any platform of the year. “Consumer demand and excitement for Halo 4 is even greater than we anticipated,” he reported. Part of that demand may be coming from the game’s impressive reviews pre-release, with the game becoming one of the most highly-rated games before it hit stores on November 6 last week (According to the Hollywood Reporter, more than 10,000 stores across the world opened their doors at midnight to celebrate the game’s release, with outlets in London, Paris, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong and Seattle taking part in the promotion).

“We’re thrilled that Halo 4 has emerged as the biggest U.S. entertainment launch of the year,” the corporate vice president of Microsoft Studios, Phil Spencer, told the Hollywood Reporter. “Thanks to the millions of fans worldwide who helped make this another record-breaking launch for the Halo franchise, Halo 4 is kicking off a strong holiday season and has become the must-have blockbuster experience of the year.”

The success of Halo 4‘s launch means that the Halo franchise will have made more than $3.38 billion, with the newest installment breaking the record for the largest number of players in the series’ history: An estimated 4 million players will have started the game in its first week of release, with the collective userbase playing a total of 31.4 million hours during that time – Another record for the franchise, and an amount that will push the collective time spent playing any of the Halo games to a truly staggering five billion hours of amassed gameplay.

(Demonstrating even further the advantage of this interest, Microsoft has also announced that views for the accompanying Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn digital series have totalled 46 million to date.)

It’ll remain to be seen how long Halo 4 can hold onto all these plaudits, however; after all, Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops II is released tomorrow, and that game is already anticipated to break sales records. Good news for the gaming industry… But maybe not such good news for Microsoft’s moment of glory.

Microsoft Surface owners are discovering that despite an advertised 32GB capacity, they only have room for 16GB of files on their new devices. We took a closer look at the reasons for the disparity, and how Windows RT compares to both iOS and Android in the same respect.

Last week, information about the Surface RT tablet’s usable space (or lack of it) was brought to the public’s attention through the FAQ published to Microsoft’s website. Contained in the page are two controversial pieces of information. First is the gap between advertised storage space and actual space available to the user. Second  - and most alarming – is the amount of space occupied by the Windows RT operating system, Office apps, and recovery sector. To further explore both issues we decided to compare the logistics of Microsoft’s Surface RT to its contemporaries, the Nexus 7 from Google and Apple’s iPad. 

Advertised storage versus usable storage

Let’s start with the difference between perceived storage size and actual usable storage. Though the advertised disk space for the two versions of Surface RT is 32GB and 64GB, respectively, the formatted space is a little less. In the case of the 32GB version, the actual disk space is closer to 29GB. Microsoft explains this disparity in storage size in the FAQ:

“The advertised local disk size is shown using the decimal system, while Windows displays the disk size using the binary system. As a result, 1 GB (in decimal) appears as about 0.93 GB (in binary). The storage capacity is the same, it’s just shown differently depending on the how you measure a GB (decimal or binary).”

This also means the 64GB Surface RT tablet actually clocks in at 58GB. However, this difference in quoted storage and actual storage isn’t exclusive to Microsoft products. Apple’s mobile devices like the iPad have similar differences. Apple offers this disclaimer on its iPad product page, “1GB = 1 billion bytes; actual formatted capacity less.”

As you may have guessed already, Android devices are not exempt from this either. The purchase page for Google’s Nexus 7 states that “actual formatted capacity will be less.” Neither Google nor Apple delve into the details behind this with the same depth as Microsoft — something the company should be respected for — but it’s worth noting that all three companies do acknowledge the gaps. 

Space reserved for operating systems

Then there is the Surface RT’s rather large chunk of storage spoken for by RT and Office. The official numbers, as posted by Microsoft, have 5GB used for recovery tools and 8GB reserved for Office applications and Windows RT. Together that’s a total of 13GB out of the box. This leaves only 16GB for user storage, since the true capacity of a 32GB Surface tablet is actually 29GB — a stipulation we’ll get to later.  

It’s true that the Surface RT offers more functionality and potential for productivity than a tablet running iOS or Android, but those operating systems are still incredibly svelte in contrast. For instance, the iPad has less than 3GB taken up by iOS out of the box. Android takes up roughly the same amount of space. This means that buying an iOS or Android device with 32GB of storage translates to approximately 29GB of free space. 

It does not really matter that you can install up to 64GB of additional storage to the Surface via microSD or attach an external hard drive to offload large files. It may make the pill easier to swallow, but it’s not a replacement for saving files to the device’s built-in solid state drive. Both iOS and Android are able to pack system files into extremely small packages and Microsoft needs to make Windows RT competitive in that respect. It might be a lot to ask, especially with the added functionality like file hierarchies and support for hundreds of USB peripherals, but Microsoft could start by cutting ties to the nearly useless desktop environment. 

Windows RT’s size is anything but typical

Now that we have a more complete picture of how storage space is handled by each of technology’s giants, it’s hard to feel anything but confusion over Microsoft’s humongous Windows RT installation. Compared to iOS and Android’s relatively pint-sized operating systems, Windows RT and Office consuming almost half of the total storage on the Surface tablet is a big problem. 

It’s true that the Surface’s 32GB version – actually closer to 16GB – is priced identically to the 16GB iPad with Wi-Fi, but it still feels wrong to mislead customers in that way. If approximately 16GB is available for user storage then that should be the number advertised. Our hope is that Microsoft can drastically trim down Windows RT or Office (or both) through further optimization and future updates. Otherwise, it may be time to change the official marketing to reflect actual facts.

Acer releases a new Chromebook that packs an Intel processor and a 320GB hard drive –and it's priced at just $199.

Samsung’s debut of several new Chromebooks, including a $249 model with an ARM processor, was met by silence from the only other hardware manufacture supporting Chrome OS – Acer. Now, Acer has responded with a brand new model, the Acer C7, which starts at just $199. That’s even less than Samsung’s cheapest option and the same price as a Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire HD.

For that price, buyers would be greedy to expect anything more than an ARM processor, yet Acer has upped the ante by cramming in an Intel Celeron 847. It’s based on the same Sandy Bridge architecture found in Intel’s second-generation Core products (Google incorrectly identifies it as a Core processor in its press release) but the clock speed is limited to just 1.1Ghz.

That’s 200 Mhz slower than the processor found in Samsung’s $449 Series 550 Chromebook that we reviewed in June 2012. Besides that difference, the two CPUs are otherwise identical, meaning performance should be similar.

The laptop also comes with an 11.6-inch 1366×768 display, 2GB of RAM, and a 320GB mechanical hard drive – specifications that put it on par with Samsung’s much more expensive offering. Even connectivity is decent thanks to three USB 2.0 ports and HDMI-out.

The only obvious cost-cutting measure is the battery. Acer hasn’t disclosed its size but official quotes peg battery life at only 3.5 hours – and manufacturer estimates are often generous. The C7 is 1-inch thick and weighs in at 3 pounds, putting it on par with Samsung’s model. However, the difference in battery life makes Acer’s alternative far less useful as a travel companion. Acer has also dropped solid state storage, though trading it for a 320GB mechanical drive seems a decent deal.

Consumers in the U.S. will be able to grab the C7 starting November 13 at Best Buy’s website and retail stores, or through the Google Play store. UK buyers will also be able to find it at Amazon UK, PC World, and Currys.

Daniel Craig's superspy returns to the tune of an $87.8 million opening weekend, making it the biggest Bond opening in the 50 year franchise's history.

James Bond is back in a big way at the box office.

The 23rd movie in the long-running franchise based on Ian Fleming’s debonaire super-spy, Skyfall shattered the opening-weekend record for the series with $87.8 million in ticket sales. The film’s predecessor, Quantum of Solace netted $67.5 million on its opening weekend in 2008 (Casino Royale had a $40.8 million opening weekend in 2006). The film premiered in the UK on October 26, and has since earned $428 million internationally, bringing the films total earnings to over $518 million. 

Not only is Daniel Craig’s return as James Bond a roaring success, the film’s opening weekend also ranks as the fourth-best opening for any film this year. Only The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Hunger Games have brought in more money during their first three days in theaters.

For the hardcore stat geeks out there, the debut of Skyfall also ranks as the seventh-best opening weekend for the month of November, falling behind two installments of the Twilight franchise and four of the Harry Potter films, according to Box Office Mojo.

Along with all of the film’s success at the box office, it also seems to be winning over critics, with our own Skyfall review calling it “an excellent anniversary present for Bond fans” and “among the best of the Bond films ever made.”

Choose the ideal cloud storage service for you to back up and share your documents, music, and photos with our comprehensive guide.

Although once a daydream as airy as a few wisps of steam, today the cloud is here to stay. Cloud storage services allow consumers access to a kind of network storage, hosting files remotely so that you can get access to them at any time from a number of computers and devices. Gone are the days of face-palming because you forgot a document on your home computer. No longer do you have to clog up your own email with photos you sent yourself for easy retrieval later. Nowadays, you can simply send it to the cloud and forget it.

However, confusion about the cloud still abounds: one study found that around half of Americans believed that a lightning storm could interfere with cloud computing. Additionally, while we at Digital Trends believe the benefits of the cloud outweigh the concerns, there are still very real security issues. For this reason, we always recommend encrypting sensitive files using software such as the free program TrueCrypt before entrusting them to the cloud.

Choosing a cloud storage service

Dozens of cloud storage services now compete for customers, luring in new clients with free accounts, extra space, and social-networking rewards. So which option is the best? While there’s plenty of debate over which service to choose, no single choice stands head-and-shoulders above the rest. Each has certain advantages, and you’ll simply have to tinker around until you find the one that works for you.

That being said, if you regularly purchase MP3s from Amazon or iTunes, you’ll probably want to choose the corresponding cloud storage service: Amazon Cloud Drive or iCloud, respectively. Why? These entertainment powerhouses don’t count music purchases you’ve made from them against your storage size limit. Essentially, you can nab free cloud storage for your tunes, which enables music streaming to all your devices 

Otixo

If you’re having a hard time deciding, or if you simply want to take advantage of as many free accounts on various platforms as possible, there’s always Otixo. Otixo is a single-stop platform for managing multiple cloud storage accounts.

Just log in once, and you can drag-and-drop documents from Google Drive to Dropbox, or copy a TV show from SugarSync to Box. A free account provides up to 2GB of bandwidth usage per month.

Dropbox

The reasons for Dropbox’s success are simple: the service is full-featured, yet easy to use, and the marketing is top-notch. Promotions styled like gaming quests encourage users to invite friends to the service to earn more storage space. Even though a number of services offer more initial free space – Google Drive’s 5GB, iCloud’s 5GB, or SkyDrive’s 7GB, versus Dropbox’s 2 GB – many customers seem to find Dropbox’s referral-rewards system irresistible (up to 18GB free space total). Upgraded pro accounts start at $9.99/month (or $99/year) for 100GB. Mobile support includes Android, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, and Kindle Fire 

To get started, just make an account and download the desktop client. This installs a folder where you can drag-and-drop files in order to transfer them to the cloud. You’ll see a pop-up notification anytime anything new is added to your account; if this annoys you, you can disable it in preferences.

One of Dropbox’s main strengths is its constant backup of word files. If you sync your Dropbox folder to your main documents folder, Dropbox will automatically backup any changes you make to each document. To access previous versions of a document, simply right-click on a file within your Dropbox folder, select “Dropbox,” and then choose “View previous versions.” This feature can be invaluable if you accidentally overwrite a file, or if you’re working collaboratively on a project.

Speaking of collaborative projects, Dropbox boasts excellent sharing abilities. Invite someone to share a particular Dropbox folder with you and that folder will appear right on their desktop. You can also send a link to an individual document or image. Additionally, Dropbox offers the best Facebook integration of any service at the moment. Finally, folders full of images can be viewed as a gallery, making Dropbox a viable photo-sharing alternative to Picasa, Imgur, and Flickr.

The lowdown: Least amount of starting free space; greatest possible free space through referrals; best version-control backup; best Facebook integration; great sharing capabilities; good for multiple computers and devices.

Google Drive 

We covered Google Drive when it first came out back in April, and the service has only improved since then. As you might have guessed, its greatest strengths all relate to integration with other Google services. With a free account, in addition to 5GB of Google Drive space, you’ll get 10GB of Gmail storage and 1GB on Picasa. Purchase any upgrade ($2.49/month for 25GB, or $4.99/month for 100GB), and you’ll automatically upgrade to 25GB of space on Gmail as a bonus. Mobile support includes iPhone, iPad, and Android.

Signing up is as simple as logging in with a Gmail address and password. From there, Google Drive appears right in your Google toolbar, just a click away from your email inbox. You can drag-and-drop files straight into your browser, or download the desktop client to have access to Google Drive as a folder, just like with Dropbox.

Google Drive borrows from Google’s powerful search algorithm to allow searches of not only file names, but also text in scanned documents and objects in images (a neat trick for those with years of vacation photos). You can upload photos straight to Google+ or view more than 30 types of files directly in-browser, including some – like Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator – for which you may not have the actual software.

But Google Drive’s standout features are its sharing and collaboration tools. Thanks to integration with Gmail, you can share files with a click, with or without requiring a password. And when you work with partners on the same word file, spreadsheet, or presentation, either separately or right at the same time, Google Drive marks the contributions of each person with differently colored labels to make clear what’s changed.

The lowdown: Only service to integrate with Gmail and Google Docs; best sharing and collaboration capabilities; access files directly in-browser; edit documents directly in-browser; affordable upgrade plans.

Microsoft SkyDrive

It’s not so much that Microsoft SkyDrive does any one thing better than other cloud storage systems (other than being the only service to support Windows phones). It’s simply that SkyDrive packs the most punch out of them all, combining many of the nicest features from each program for a well-rounded overall package. If you don’t have a pressing reason to choose another service, it’s hard to go wrong with SkyDrive. It also boasts the most free storage space of any service on this list (7GB), along with inexpensive upgrades (starting at $10/year for 20GB). Mobile support includes Windows phones, Android, iPhone, and iPad.

To get SkyDrive, you’ll need to sign in using a Microsoft account (previously called a Windows Live account). Next, install the desktop client, which functions as a normal folder. As with Dropbox, you can share folders or individual files with a link, as well as access previous versions of files. You can also post photos directly from SkyDrive to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social-networking sites, which is a nice time-saving touch.

However, one of SkyDrive’s most innovative features is its built-in remote access capabilities. From the SkyDrive.com website, you can get access to any PC associated with your account that has the SkyDrive client installed, even files not already uploaded to SkyDrive. In other words, say you forget to move a presentation to your SkyDrive folder before leaving for work, but your home computer is still on. Simply sign into SkyDrive and retrieve it from afar, whether it’s on your hard drive or a connected external hard drive. We can see this remote-access feature saving users a lot of frustration and heartache.

SkyDrive is also the only service to integrate with free Office Web Apps, allowing you to work collaboratively on projects much like in Google Docs. However, the Office Web Apps have the advantage of opening Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents seamlessly, avoiding any formatting kerfuffles. SkyDrive maintains the 25 most recent versions of every file, so if a partner makes a change you don’t like, you can easily revert to an easier version. SkyDrive also hooks up with OneNote, a sleek note-taking program that works well on touchpads and monitors alike.

The lowdown: Only service (besides Box) to sync with Windows phones; only service to integrate with Microsoft Office Web apps; most initial free space (7GB); inexpensive upgrades; great collaboration tools and version-control backup; built-in remote access capability.

Amazon Cloud Drive

Although Amazon Cloud Drive has beefed up since it first appeared on the scene, via Cloud Player, it still doesn’t offer the editing, sharing, or collaboration abilities of other services. It comes with 5GB of free storage, like Google Drive, and upgrades start at $10 a year for 20GB. It does support mobile integration with the Kindle Fire, but then again, so does Dropbox.

However, the ease of storing music, e-books, and videos purchased from Amazon.com itself may sweeten the deal for high-volume users, especially since Amazon Cloud Drive doesn’t count Amazon music purchases against your storage limit. To use it, sign into an Amazon.com account and download the desktop client.

The lowdown: Inexpensive upgrades; integration with Kindle Fire; free storage and streaming for Amazon MP3s; sparse features for word documents and spreadsheets.

iCloud

You’re bound to see similarities between Amazon Cloud Drive and Apple’s iCloud. Like Amazon, iCloud starts with 5GB of free storage and $10 a year to upgrade to 20GB. Also like Amazon, iCloud’s strengths lie in music storage and streaming.

You’ll want this option if you purchase, organize, and access most of your music and other media through iTunes, especially since music purchased from iTunes doesn’t count against your storage limit. As you might imagine, iCloud plays along very nicely with the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Apple TV.

The lowdown: Inexpensive upgrades; integration with all Apple devices; free storage and streaming for iTunes MP3s; sparse features for word documents and spreadsheets.

Box

Box is an all-around solid service, and may offer a compelling alternative to users who are wary to place ever-increasing amounts of information in the control of Google, Amazon, Apple, or Microsoft. Mobile support for all accounts includes Android, iPhone, and iPad.

Free accounts start at 5GB, although in a bit of a bizarre twist, many of Box’s rather common-place features only come bundled with a business account, which starts at $15 a month per user. Shelling out for the latter will land you a whopping 1,000GB of storage space (which is just 24GB shy of 1TB), as well as version-history backups, password-protected sharing, and search abilities.

Indeed, in many ways Box seems best geared toward corporate use, and it shows. Clients include Proctor & Gamble, Six Flags, and Pandora. If you’re a small-business owner or a startup, Box may be right up your alley. All accounts, even free ones, allow you to share files or folders with a link. Box also integrates the ability to add comments and assign tasks for easy collaboration and workflow management.

The lowdown: Best for businesses; integrated workflow management tools; great sharing and collaboration potential; free accounts lacking some features.

What cloud storage service do you prefer? Let us know in the comments below.

Post-launch DLC will follow Dante's brother on his path to the dark side.

The upcoming reboot of the Devil May Cry game franchise is still a few months from hitting shelves, but Capcom has already announced one big piece of downloadable content that will be available after the debut of DmC: Devil May Cry.

Titled “Vergil’s Downfall,” the new DLC will let players take on the role of Vergil, Dante’s twin brother from the series. The DLC will cost 720 MS Points or $8.99 on the PlayStation Network and will reportedly contain several hours of new, unique gameplay with a storyline and special weapons, enemies, combos, and settings tailored to the character.

Given that Vergil has been one of the chief villains of the franchise up to this point, the DLC is likely to provide some answers for anyone wondering how he strayed so far from his brother’s heroic ways.

You can watch a trailer for “Vergil’s Downfall” below, with the DLC expected to be available just after the launch of DmC: Devil May Cry on January 15. Anyone who pre-orders the game at GameStop will receive a free code for the DLC.

Following a $216 million loss, the ompany promises a move toward social gaming as a cure for Interactive Media's financial woes.

Mickey Mouse’s employers have been in the news a lot lately with their recent acquisition of LucasFilm and the Star Wars franchise, but the latest update from Disney reveals some difficulty in getting their gaming interests to turn a profit.

In its latest fourth-quarter and full-year financial report, Disney indicated that its Interactive Media division — which manages its various gaming projects — was the only sector of the company to post a loss for the year-long period ending September 29. The sum total of its net loss was $216 million, and the company blamed the deficit on a lack of “significant” titles released during the year.

However, the report wasn’t entirely gloomy for Disney, as the $216 million loss was actually an improvement on the $308 million loss the games division reported last year at this time. The upward trend was attributed to a greater focus on social gaming and a shift away from console-game development.

“Improved segment operating results for the year reflected an increase at our social games business and higher allocations to other Company businesses, primarily related to website design and maintenance, partially offset by a decrease at our console game business,” explained the company. “Social game results reflected lower acquisition accounting impacts and improved title performance in the current year. Lower console game results were driven by a decline in sales volume from fewer significant releases which was partially offset by lower marketing costs, higher minimum guarantee recognition and decreased product development costs. The reduction in console games product development reflected an ongoing shift from console game releases to mobile and social game releases.”

With Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two scheduled to hit shelves later this month across various platforms, it will be interesting to see how the much-anticipated console game affects Disney’s bottom line for this year. The first Epic Mickey was released in November 2010, so its sales would’ve counted toward the most recent financial report.

RIM fans are dropping off rather quickly, jumping ship to other platforms like Windows Phone, Android and iOS. The company’s big hope is that the upcoming Blackberry 10 OS takes off and is the salvation they are waiting for. With that in mind, we now have an official launch date– January 30^th.

The launch event will be held in several countries at once and will showcase two different BB10 handsets. According to RIM, the new user experience, called BlackBerry Flow, is unlike any smartphone ecosystem/OS on the market today. Can they can live up to such a bold claim? The evidence seems to suggest otherwise, but we’ll refrain from totally judging their latest efforts until at least after this January 30^th launch event.

The big problem is that major ground has been lost and new players are showing up to the market such as Mozilla with its Firefox OS in early 2013. Even more of a problem, Windows Phone 8 is actually picking up in momentum, thanks in large part to massive marketing campaigns.

Due to RIM’s current fiscal state, they can’t even begin to match the marketing efforts of companies like Microsoft so the products will have to talk for themelves. We don’t know tons about the two new devices but rumors claim one of the devices will be the code-named “London”. This device is said to feature a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and an 8MP Camera. Not “ultra powerful” by today’s standards but not a weakling either.

So, interested in what RIM and the Blackberry brand can bring to the table or is it simply a case of too little, too late?

Microsoft and Motorola are due to meet in court tomorrow in a case that could have serious ramifications for the wider patent war. It’s thought the federal judge presiding will rule for the first time on what a reasonable royalty rate for essential patents should be.

Back in 2010 Microsoft filed a lawsuit against Motorola complaining that the company was demanding excessive royalty rates for industry-standard essential patents. The contention is that Motorola is not abiding by the principles of FRAND licensing which is all about “Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory” licensing terms on patents that other companies have to license. The case will be heard in the U.S. District Court in Seattle starting tomorrow.

Federal judge, James Robart, is expected to issue an opinion on what is fair when it comes to royalty rates. There will then be a jury trial in the spring to decide whether Motorola breached its agreement with an unfair demand. Motorola asked for 2.25 percent of the sale price on releases that infringe the patents, in this case that includes the Xbox 360 games console and Windows software. Microsoft balked at what it claimed would amount to more than a $4 billion royalty per year. Motorola disputed that and pointed out that the 2.25 percent rate was an opening to negotiations. Microsoft has argued that a payment of $1.2 million would be fair.

Since Microsoft refused to negotiate, Google-owned Motorola appealed to the ITC to ban the Xbox 360 from sale. There is also a related case in Germany where Motorola won an injunction, but it is on hold pending the result of the Seattle trial.

A similar case between Apple and Motorola was due to be heard last week, but Apple refused to pay more than $1 or less per iPhone to license Motorola’s patents. Judge Barbara Crabb canceled the trial in Madison, Wisconsin.

Google’s purchase of Motorola Mobility was partly about building a patent portfolio and it has been trying to use Motorola’s FRAND patents to fight back against Microsoft and Apple in the courts. This case could decide whether that’s a viable tactic or not once and for all.

The general consensus is that this could set a precedent that other courts will look at in future cases. That could mean future negotiations over FRAND patent licensing will have a framework to refer to and the outcome will have a major impact on the overall patent war.

Ubisoft sets ambitious schedule for Assassin's Creed movie starring Michael Fassbender.

Last month we learned that the Assassin’s Creed movie starring Michael Fassbender was being “fast-tracked” through the development cycle thanks to a deal with production and distribution company New Regency, and the latest update on the project indicates that game developer Ubisoft is targeting a 2013 release for the film.

Ubisoft chief sales and marketing officer Geoffroy Sardin mentioned the studio’s intended schedule for the movie in an interview with Games Industry International while discussing all of the different forms the Assassin’s Creed franchise will take across various media in the near future.

“Another thing that is very important for the lifecycle is the transmedia offer,” he said. “All the figurines, the books, the publishing, and we have a movie in the next coming year.”

While last month’s update indicated that work was already underway on the film, a 2013 release still seems a bit ambitious for a project on the scale of Assassin’s Creed — especially one involving a busy, in-demand actor like Fassbender. That we have yet to hear about any additional cast members, producers, or the film’s director only makes a 2013 release that much more impressive of a goal.

X-Men: First Class actor Fassbender was originally announced as the film’s star back in July.

Open-world building game becomes one of the all-time, best-selling PC titles.

It’s no surprise that the open-world, building game Minecraft has found its way to a lot of computers since its first alpha release way back in 2009, but just how many computers is pretty amazing.

According to Minecraft’s official website, the game has been purchased more than 8 million times by PC users alone — a sales figure Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson brought attention to this morning.

“The PC version of Minecraft just passed 8 million sales! My face is making grinning sounds, so I assume it’s grinning!” he posted on Twitter.

What makes the numbers even more impressive, however, is that they don’t take into account some of the other platforms on which the game has sold successfully. Minecraft has been purchased more than 4 million times on Xbox Live since it debuted there as a downloadable game in May. On top of that, the mobile version of the game, available for Android and iOS devices, has been purchased more than 700,000 times this year.

Although Persson has stepped away from the game’s continued development, Minecraft still receives regular updates — which will likely keep its fanbase growing for quite a while.

We’ve known about the Japanese-bound HTC J Butterfly for a while now. The 5-inch 1080 monster looks to be one of the most impressive smartphones ever released, but what about outside of Japan? In the United States, Verizon is getting a rebranded version called the Droid DNA. The good news is that the rest of the Asian market is also getting the gorgeous 1080p phablet, under the name HTC DLX.

According to several rumors emerging, the HTC DLX will be available in black, white and brown color choices and will be slightly thinner than Verizon’s version, possible due to a smaller battery inside. Otherwise, the DLX, J Butterfly and Droid DNA all seem to have about the same overall specs.

With the HTC DLX you will get the same 1080p screen, a quad-core Snapdragon S4 CPU, 2GB of RAM and a 12MP camera.

At the moment, the rumors seem to only talk about China and Taiwan getting the DLX. That being said, don’t be surprised if the HTC DLX makes its way to other markets like Europe in the not-so-distant future as well. When? That’s a good question. We’ll keep our readers up to date when we learn more.

Research in Motion has announced it will officially reveal its BlackBerry 10 phones and their release date at an event to be held on January 30, 2013. The news comes soon after the OS was sent for testing with carriers around the world, showing the new software is edging closer to going on sale.

Research in Motion has announced it will reveal BlackBerry 10 and its accompanying handsets at an event to be held on January 30, 2013. There’s nothing like a bit of notice, and the early announcement has absolutely nothing to do with reminding us that BlackBerry 10 and RIM still exist.

The press release, issued 80 days before the event it announces, says the BlackBerry 10 launch event will “happen simultaneously in multiple countries around the world,” and that it will be the “official launch” of the new platform. This means we’ll be treated to the unveiling of two phones and be provided with the final release dates too.

We’re expecting the phones to be the L Series and the N Series handsets already seen in several leaks; the former of which has a big touchscreen, while the latter sticks with the traditional QWERTY keyboard, but matches it up with a touchscreen to keep it up to date.

RIM has long maintained that BlackBerry 10 will go on sale during the first quarter of 2013, so somewhere between January and March. Now, with the launch event coming right at the end of January, this narrows that date by a full month, making the predictions of a March release look more likely.

It could however, pull an Apple and have the phones ready for pre-order just a week or so after the event, with general release coming soon afterwards. The last we heard about BlackBerry 10, it had been sent to more than 50 carriers worldwide for testing, a process said to take between six and 20 weeks. The worst case scenario put the release date in mid-March 2013.

While skepticism concerning BlackBerry 10 is rife, several important advancements have been made recently, including allowing developers to start submitting applications, and the OS being approved for use with government agencies.

To keep the momentum going, we now have the date for the official launch event too, even if it is next year.

A leaked picture could have given us our first look at the Ativ Odyssey, a Verizon-exclusive version of Samsung's Ativ S, which runs Windows Phone 8 and is expected to launch during December.

A picture showing a phone believed to be the Verizon Ativ Odyssey has been leaked online. The device is a re-branded Samsung Ativ S, the Korean firm’s only handset to run Windows Phone 8, and the very first one to be announced.

Microsoft teased the Ativ Odyssey at its Windows Phone 8 launch event at the end of October, when the phone showed up on a presentation slide with the words “coming in December” written below the outline of a generic phone. CEO Steve Ballmer described it as “unbelievably thin, incredibly light.”

Remove the superlatives and you’ve got a decent description of the Ativ S, which measures 8.7mm thick and weighs 135 grams, and has the look of the Galaxy S2 and Galaxy S3 about it.

A leaked picture has now given us our first look at the Ativ Odyssey, a Verizon-exclusive device. It’s important to mention this, as you may have missed the subtle network branding shown in the image above.

The Ativ Odyssey doesn’t look exactly the same as the Ativ S, as it has a curvier body along with a touchscreen Windows button, instead of the physical key seen on the Ativ. This re-design is unfortunate, as the Odyssey is more generic looking than the Samsung Ativ S. Of course, this is a leaked picture, and the real thing could end up being completely different.

If the specification remains the same as the Ativ S, it will have a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen with an HD resolution, a dual-core, 1.5GHz processor and an 8-megapixel camera. As you can see from the image, the Ativ Odyssey is likely to connect to Verizon’s 4G LTE network.

The Ativ Odyssey’s launch date may coincide with the Ativ S’s release in the UK, as late last week, it emerged the phone’s release had been delayed until December 10 at the earliest. If the Ativ Odyssey is made official, it will join the Nokia Lumia 822 and the HTC 8X in Verizon’s Windows Phone line-up.

Apple and HTC have reached an agreement, putting an end to more than two-years of patent-related lawsuits, giving Apple another win and ensuring HTC avoids Samsung's expensive fate.

These days, it’s not often a patent dispute is settled without a judgement against one of the parties or the case being thrown out, so it’s refreshing to see that tech companies can come to an amicable agreement, as evidenced last week by HTC and Apple sorting out their differences.

Apple’s fight with HTC began in 2010, under Steve Jobs’ reign, and has continued ever since, complete with counter-lawsuits from HTC, several rulings and some HTC devices being held back from sale.

In a statement published on its website, Apple says it has now “reached a global settlement that includes the dismissal of all current lawsuits and a ten-year license agreement.” Both Peter Chou, CEO of HTC, and Tim Cook, CEO of Apple provide short and to-the-point quotes on the situation:

“HTC is pleased to have resolved its dispute with Apple, so HTC can focus on innovation instead of litigation,” says Peter Chou, while Tim Cook echoes his words by saying “We are glad to have reached a settlement with HTC. We will continue to stay laser focused on product innovation.”

Apple’s aggressive legal team hasn’t had it easy since its $1 billion win against Samsung earlier in the year, with its case against Motorola being dismissed with prejudice last week, and a loss against Samsung in the UK — a case that has continued to haunt them despite it being all over. An agreement with HTC means the team can put a tick in the win column.

For HTC, it must be a relief that it’s not going to have to face the possibility of a $1 billion judgement against it, as unlike Samsung, it doesn’t have money to throw around. CEO Peter Chou’s statement rings true, as the once-dominant company needs to get back to making desirable smartphones, instead of fiddling about with lawsuits, if its to increase its diminishing market share.

So, it’s congratulations to Apple and HTC, as the fewer patent disputes there are in the world, the better.